Leader for MVP race has the kind of instinct, creativity and natural talent as Warriors' Stephen Curry

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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 16: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs drops back to pass in the first half during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on September 16, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Patrick Mahomes has made a splash, all right. Just past the midway point of his first season as a starter, the second-year quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs is the NFL’s answer to Stephen Curry.

Mahomes, who has the Chiefs at 8-1, is the leader in the clubhouse for the league’s Most Valuable Player. He is playing with combination of precision, creativity, instinct and the ability to strike from anywhere on on the field, whether it’s at the goal line or from long-distance. Sound familiar, Warriors fans?

The numbers are staggering. Sunday, Mahomes threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over Cleveland, tying Andrew Luck for the NFL record with eight straight 300-yard games. At his current pace Mahomes would pass for 5,157 yards (only six quarterbacks have passed for 5,000 yards in a season) and 52 touchdowns. The only quarterbacks in NFL history to have 50 touchdown passes in a season are Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

Bad weather could slow his statistical roll in the second half of the season, but what Mahomes has done goes beyond numbers. Alex Smith, the quarterback who Mahomes replaced, expertly managed the Chiefs to plenty of wins.

Mahomes may be good enough to prevent the Andy Reid end-of-season sag, because he’s not a game manager. He can seize a game and make it his own through a skill level that adds improvisation to fundamentals.

Fundamentals at times go out the window with Mahomes. He’s even switched the ball to his left hand and completed a first down pass. But Mahomes mastered the Reid screen game and can feather short throws to receivers in stride, while at the same time throw lasers into tight coverage to the likes of Travis Kelce in the end zone.

Another parallel with Curry — Mahomes has a supporting cast including Kelce, running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver Tyreek Hill that perfectly enhance his ability to execute the basic plays and also make something from nothing.

It’s a crowded MVP field for the remainder of the season, including Brady, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, New Orleans’ Drew Brees, Carolina’s Cam Newton, the Chargers’ Philip Rivers and the Rams’ Jared Goff and Todd Gurley.

More midterm observations and awards leaders heading in to the second half of the season:

Team on the rise: The Houston Texans are 6-3 after losing their first three games, have seen quarterback DeShaun Watson return to something approximating his rookie form and J.J. Watt looks like a reasonable facsimile of his old self for the first time in three years. Oh, and the Texans have only one game the rest of the season against a team that currently has a winning record.

Look out below: The Bengals are 5-3, but they can’t stop anybody and will be without wide receiver A.J. Green for the foreseeable future because of a foot injury. Should be just good enough to miss the playoffs and Marvin Lewis to retain his job. Just as he always does.

Defensive player of the year: The Rams Aaron Donald in a runaway. He’s got 10 sacks — from an interior rush position — and is the most disruptive down-to-down player in the NFL.

Comeback player of the year: Andrew Luck of the Colts not only looks as good as he ever has physically, but the Colts are protecting him as well.

Offensive rookie of the year: Saquon Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, has 517 yards rushing and is averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Phillip Lindsay, an undrafted rookie for Denver, actually has more rushing yards (591), but Barkley’s 58 receptions for 497 yards make him the front-runner.

Defensive rookie of the year: Darius Leonard of the Indianapolis Colts, a second-round draft pick, is the unofficial NFL leader in tackles with 88. He’s fast and athletic, one of the top run stoppers according to ProFootballFocus.com, and can hold his own in pass coverage.

Leonard gets the edge over Derwin James, the Los Angeles Chargers safety out of Florida State whose size, speed and ability to play with physicality brings to mind the late Sean Taylor of Washington.

Coach of the year: The Saints’ Sean Payton has perfectly retooled his offense to suit a 39-year-old Brees and has his team with just one loss and in charge of the NFC South.

Raiders fans may never get used to seeing Khalil Mack in a Bears uniform.

The trade heard round the world: Khalil Mack wanted to be the highest paid defensive player in the NFL, not an entirely unreasonable request. The Raiders didn’t want to pay Mack more than quarterback Derek Carr and have two players tying up their salary cap in future years.

Trading Mack in a package that included two first-round draft picks (2019 and 2020) was gave the Bears (5-3) immediate legitimacy, even with Mack out with an ankle injury. It also served notice the Raiders (1-7) were willing to sacrifice the present for the future.

Ignore it and it goes away: Notice how once NFL owners and the league itself stopped talking about or worrying about players kneeling for the national anthem it ceased to become a story?

The Carolina Panthers signed former 49ers safety Eric Reid, he continued to listen to his conscience and kneel, and it barely registered as a news item.

Most devastating injury: The 49ers were 5-0 under Jimmy Garoppolo last season after he was acquired from the Patriots. He was lost for the season to a torn ACL on Sept. 23. For all intents and purposes, season over.

Biggest disappointment (tie): Jacksonville was a step shy of the Super Bowl last season. Now they’re 3-5 and on a four-game losing streak with the lowlight of having players walk out on a $60,000 bill at 4 a.m. in a London nightclub.

The Raiders weren’t expected to be a Super Bowl team, but they certainly weren’t supposed to be a contender for the No. 1 draft pick after bringing Jon Gruden back into the fold after nine years in the ESPN booth. They’re busy accumulating draft picks and getting their salary cap in order for 2019 and 2020.

Best free agent signing: You want to know why free agency is such a crap shoot? Very few big names pay off into something special. Minnesota paid $84 million guaranteed to land Kirk Cousins and they’re treading water at 5-3-1, not quite as good as a year ago under Case Keenum.

No team is getting more out of a free agent than Washington and 33-year-old running back Adrian Peterson for the bargain price of $1,015,000. When Peterson and Marshawn Lynch were both available going in to the 2017 season, I thought for sure Lynch had more left. I thought wrong.

Hottest seat: It’s a lethal combination for Tampa Bay’s Dirk Koetter. His team is underperforming and he’s got a coach-killer of a quarterback in Jameis Winston, whether he starts or not. Jason Garrett (Cowboys) and Doug Marrone (Jaguars) could be in trouble if their teams trend downward.

Cased closed: Colin Kaepernick’s collusion lawsuit requires only two words from his lawyer to come out victorious against the NFL: Nathan Peterman.

Have to think there’s some quiet intervention going on with Roger Goodell, beseeching the Buffalo Bills to quit putting such an overmatched quarterback on the field. Unless there are documented cases of Kaepernick declining opportunities, he wins going away.